Gu Xingdong lifted the bag in his hand, "Where is my wife?"
Gao Mingyuan signaled to someone beside him. The person went into the inner room and quickly brought Chen Lishu out.
Seeing her emerge, Gu Xingdong's gaze immediately fell on Chen Lishu. He looked her up and down, and after confirming she was unharmed, his expression eased slightly.
"Are you alright?"
Chen Lishu shook her head at him, "I'm fine, don't worry."
'Mei Qiu' crossed his arms over his chest and said with his chin slightly raised, "We only want money. Money for the person, hands off."
Gu Xingdong directly threw the bag in his hand over.
'Mei Qiu' took the bag and immediately opened it to check. Once he confirmed it was correct, he waved his hand at his subordinates.
Chen Lishu, now released, quickly walked a few steps to Gu Xingdong's side.
"Kid, it's your turn. Hand over the money you have," 'Mei Qiu's' gaze fell on He Ziyu.
He Ziyu said, "No rush, I have two questions for your President Gao."
'Mei Qiu's' expression immediately soured, and he said with a sinister look, "What is there to ask? Don't try any tricks, hand over the money quickly, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
He Ziyu shrugged, "Don't worry, asking two questions won't take much time. Besides, with so many of you here, even if I wanted to play tricks, it probably wouldn't be useful, right?"
Gao Mingyuan looked deeply at He Ziyu, "Ask."
"Back then, you betrayed the company and leaked its secrets. He Zinian originally intended to pursue legal responsibility. It was Zhu Shasha who pleaded for you, but even so, your reputation was ruined, and no employer would hire you."
Gao Mingyuan suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp and menacing, "Who are you?"
He Ziyu didn't answer but continued, "You had no choice but to leave Kyoto and go elsewhere. Before you left, did Zhu Shasha have you do anything else?"
A fleeting look of panic crossed Gao Mingyuan's eyes, but it didn't escape He Ziyu's notice.
"You are... He Ziyu?" Looking at the face before him, which bore some resemblance to He Zinian, Gao Mingyuan finally guessed his identity.
The He family had three sons. The eldest, He Zifeng, served in the military. The second son, He Zinian, was in business. The third son, He Ziyu, was a doctor. On the surface, He Ziyu seemed to have the least success, but upon closer examination, He Ziyu had the widest network of contacts and was the one person not to be offended.
Back then, Zhu Shasha had mediated, and He Zinian had agreed not to pursue the matter further. Yet, it was this He Ziyu who ruined his reputation and made it impossible for him to stay in Kyoto.
"What, has it been too long and you can't remember? After leaving Kyoto, you stayed in S Province for a while."
Gao Mingyuan's eyes flickered with even greater panic, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Alright, then I'll be direct. When my nephew Mingrui went missing back then, the trail led to S Province and then went cold. I recently reinvestigated and found that you had contact with someone named Zhu Changgui. He's a relative of that woman surnamed Zhu, isn't he?"
"It seems you've found out quite a bit. As expected of the famous third son of the He family in Kyoto, you're much stronger than your good-for-nothing second brother." After the initial panic, Gao Mingyuan had now completely regained his composure.
"Since you know, then don't blame me for being impolite."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Mingyuan suddenly pulled a gun from his pocket, the dark barrel pointing directly at He Ziyu.
No one had expected him to have a gun. Everyone present was stunned. Especially 'Mei Qiu' and his subordinates, they only wanted money, not to kill anyone.
"President Gao, is there any need to make such a big scene?"
"If we don't get rid of these people today, neither you nor I will have a good outcome. I know better than anyone the consequences of offending the He family. Rather than living a life worse than death later, it's better to go all the way. Here's a million, enough for us to live luxuriously from now on."
Gao Mingyuan's gaze shifted past 'Mei Qiu' and landed back on He Ziyu, "You can only blame yourself for not staying in Kyoto and coming here to court death. Zhu Shasha did me a favor, and no matter what, I won't let you destroy her current happiness."
Gu Xingdong's eyes were fixed on Gao Mingyuan's movements, and at the same time, he reached out to shield Chen Lishu behind him.
"Don't be afraid. When the time comes, find a safe place to hide. Leave the rest to me. Don't worry, nothing will happen as long as I'm here."
Chen Lishu's face was taut as she nodded, "Okay, I understand. You be careful too."
"Her happiness? A venomous woman doesn't deserve happiness at all."
As soon as He Ziyu finished speaking, Gao Mingyuan furiously pulled the trigger.
With a bang, everyone present felt their hearts involuntarily tremble.
The moment Gu Xingdong saw Gao Mingyuan's movement, he exerted force with his feet, swiftly lunging towards He Ziyu and rolling twice with him before stopping.
He flipped over and got up from the ground, keeping an eye on Gao Mingyuan while not forgetting to ask He Ziyu, "Are you alright?"
He Ziyu pushed himself up from the ground and shook his head at him, "I'm fine."
After they both stood up, He Ziyu looked at Gao Mingyuan and sneered, "It seems your marksmanship isn't very good either. You'll need more practice in the future, but after today, I'm afraid you won't have the chance."
Gao Mingyuan was furious, "You have so much to say even when death is imminent."
As soon as he finished speaking, he fired several shots towards He Ziyu and Gu Xingdong.
Chen Lishu could no longer worry; as soon as the first shot rang out, she had quickly taken cover in a corner.
He Ziyu was quite skilled, and coupled with Gao Mingyuan's provocation, he hadn't even bothered to aim. As a result, all the shots missed. Gao Mingyuan soon ran out of bullets.
Furious, he put away the gun in his hand and turned to order 'Mei Qiu', "What are you waiting for? You and I are in this together now. Do you think they will let you off?"
'Mei Qiu', who was hiding in the corner, reacted. He yelled to his subordinates who were rushing in, "Everyone, attack! No one is to be let go today."
As soon as he spoke, over a dozen men wielding tools charged towards Gu Xingdong and He Ziyu.
Gu Xingdong was not afraid, and He Ziyu was also quite skilled. In the back-and-forth struggle, despite the large numbers of their opponents, they couldn't gain any advantage.
Seeing more and more of his men being knocked down, Gao Mingyuan grew anxious. He turned to 'Mei Qiu' and said, "Quick, call more people in."
Just as 'Mei Qiu' reached the window to shout for reinforcements, he suddenly saw a group of people charging in from outside the courtyard. Before his men could even react, they were being systematically taken down, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"Thank you for your help this time, it allowed these people to be controlled so quickly." A deputy director from the Public Security Bureau extended his hand and shook hands with Gu Xingdong and He Ziyu respectively.
He Ziyu said with some regret, "It's a shame Gao Mingyuan got away."